5 Easy Home Upgrades To Raise Your Property Value

We all know that costly home improvements will raise the value of your home. However not all of us are financially able to fork over tens of thousands of dollars to beautify and upgrade our homes. Luckily though, there are many ways that homeowners can make small and simple updates on their home to raise their property value.

So before you go and spend thousands of dollars with a contractor try these five easy to do home upgrades to raise your property value.

Increase The Curb Appeal

When it comes to increasing the value of your home by making one simple change, nothing is easier than decluttering your landscape. You don’t need to hire a landscaping company to re-do your entire yard though.

Typically, homeowners just need to grab a some pruning tools and a rake and cut down your overgrown shrubs. Add mulch in your flower beds to clearly define their location. If you’re unsure of what to keep and what to remove, remember that the concept of ‘less is more’ applies to your front yard.

Update The Look Of Your Kitchen

With just a few hundred dollars you can modernize the look of your kitchen. Since we’re trying to save money, we’ll stay away from the major improvements such as replacing the kitchen cabinets, buying a new fridge or changing your countertops. There’s a variety of things you can do, but here are a few cheap ones.

Buy a new microwave that matches the color of your refrigerator. Ideally you’ll want all of your appliances to match, but the microwave is the cheapest of them to replace. You can change the kitchen faucet set to give your kitchen sink a more modern look. Finally, you can change the handles on your kitchen cabinets which shouldn’t cost you more than $50.

Get Rid Of Your Popcorn Ceiling

You can call it an acoustic ceiling, a popcorn ceiling or a cottage cheese ceiling, but most new homeowners call it ugly. Back in the 80’s popcorn ceiling was all the rage. But now it’s not exactly the look new homeowners want. While this project is a messy one, it’s possible to do on your own as it requires no technical knowledge.

Here’s a very basic guide on how to remove the ceiling on your own. First, move the furniture out of the room and lay a plastic covering on the floor. Next, spray the ceiling with water. Use a knife to scrape off that outdated ceiling. After letting the ceiling dry off overnight, sand the ceiling and paint it white. You can find more in-depth step by step tutorials on YouTube.

Paint The Walls

You may have painted the walls in your own personal taste when you first moved in. But now that you’re considering selling your home for the maximum price, it’s time to re-paint the walls. Certain colors go out of style, walls get dirty and get scratches on them.

This is an easy DIY job, as all it requires is a few gallons of paint, paint rollers, painters tape and a drop cloth. Stick to neutral colors to brighten up the room and not turn off any potential buyers. Use a glossy finish on bathrooms and kitchens and matte for the bedrooms and the living room.

De-Clutter Your House

One easy way to make your home look nicer is to clean it up a bit and throw away anything you haven’t used in years. If the inner-hoarder in you is freaking out, don’t fret. You don’t have to throw everything out, you just have to organize it better. Buy large plastic storage bins, fill them up, stack them up and store them in the corner of the garage.

The closet is another area that could definitely use some de-cluttering. There are countless products to help organize your clothing. The days of a horizontal bar and clothes hangers are over. You can find some great ideas on Pinterest and products at the Container Store.

Even if you’re not planning on selling your house at the moment, giving your home a minor facelift can make you fall in love with your home all over again. Do you have any other easy and cheap home upgrades that can help increase property values? If so share them in the comments section below.

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About The Author

Edwin is the money hacking millennial behind Cash The Checks. He lives a minimalist lifestyle and is always eager to learn and share his methods to save and make money.

3 Comments

SusannahMay 9, 2014 at 12:02 pm

In many houses, the “popcorn” ceiling material includes asbestos. Get it tested before starting a large-scale removal effort.